Forgive my blasphemy here, but I find the current B-1B Lancer schemes- plain gray- boring. The initial release of the Revell/Monogram B-1B Lancer bomber kit was in a “desert camo scheme,” circa 1983 or so. I’ve always liked this scheme, especially in contrast to the previous plain white ones, and boring grays they wear today.
This initial release of the 1/48 kit is usually angrily dismissed outright-; as reviews note rather huffily, “No B-1B ever wore the colorful desert scheme- only a few of the B-1As.”
But there’s hope…in the Detail and Scale book on the B-1 Lancer, the author comments on the Monogram 1/72 B-1 “B”" kit something to the effect of, “It’s more like a B-1A, has features of a B-1A, so you could convert this kit to a true B-1A without too much work.” But he doesn’t elaborate…
Just picked up the 1983 release of the Monogram 1/72 “B-1B,” with the totally ficticious red, white and blue swooshes on the wings- a sci-fi scheme! So if I finished it in the desert camo schme, it would be a step up- at least a few Lancers actually wore this scheme, unlike the Monogram imaginary paint job!
Do any of you have opinions/ ideas on how one would make a genuine, desert-camoed B-1A Lancer (not “B”) in either 1/48 or 1/72 scale? What sort of surgery would be needed to the Revell/ Monogram 1/72 and/or 1/48 kits to bring them back to B-1A configuration?
I do have the old Minicraft 1/144 B-1A in the desert scheme. Cool little kit but too small, so I can use it (the kit decals, paint scheme drawing, etc.) as a rough guide to what a 1/72 or 1/48 B-1A circa 1984, in desert camo, might look like.
I feel the biggest areas you would need to focus on would be the intakes and the Over Wing Fairing (OWF), as far as converstions you would easly be able to convert the OWF by just making one or two cuts. The intakes i feel would be a trickier part because of how square they are compared to the B-1B’s. Other than that you might need some chnages done to the windows and the tail radome but everything else out of the kit should be the same. Would love to see someone do one in 1:48.
The only other thing i would recomend is that you get the Barracuda Cast exhaust set as they look AMAZEING and would look perfect.
Thanks a lot, Tyler! The intakes def. would need some work- different shape…
I agree, the Barrucuda resin looks great! I already wrote to them to suggest a B-1A conversion kit.
Given that the current B-1B paint schemes are so plain- while that circa 1984 desert camo scheme on the B-1A is so colorful and distinctive, it’s surpising that after all these years, other than the Minicraft 1/144 B-1A kit (which is a reboxed Entex kit, if I recall correctly), no one has done a full blown B-1A, or even a resin conversion kit in 1/72 or 1/48!
IIRC, the A also had a different nose outline; narrower than the B. I might be wrong on that; it’s been awhile since I’ve read my copy of the B-1 D & S.
Also, I think the desert camo “might” have still been on one of the A’s when they brought her up to pre-production B standard but see caveat above!
Personally, if the desert camo is your thing, paint it up and enjoy it! Like the motto of of one forum goes: “Build what you want, the way you want, and have fun!” I’ve got the 1/72 Monogram kit on the SOD for the moment but when it’s finished, I’m going for the early green/gray paint job. I agree, overall 36118 is BORING.